1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of process control of multiple, simultaneously occurring processes in a computer system. The present invention has particular utility in the field of reconstruction of medical images in medical data processing systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The data quantities that are required for medical images and the associated data, in particular from computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) images, have increased continuously with technological improvements. The images are thereby increasingly more precise, higher-resolution and detailed, which enables a better analysis of the images and a more exact diagnosis; but ever more computing power is required for the reconstruction of the image data into two-dimensional or three-dimensional images. For the clinical daily routine it is very important for the reconstructed images to be available as quickly as possible for further processing or diagnosis and to avoid unnecessary wait times.
In order to meet these requirements, conventional technological efforts have been aimed toward reconstructing the image data into the required images with as much computing power as possible. The reconstruction ensues serially, meaning the reconstruction processes are serially executed one after the other depending on the requirement of images to be reconstructed. One reconstruction process (reconstruction job or task) thus must be terminated first before the next reconstruction process can begin.
This is particularly problematical when multiple reconstruction processes are to be implemented on the same computer, which can be the case when the computer is used both for immediate viewing upon the acquisition of the images (scan) and in the treatment and diagnosis at a later point in time. The same computer also is often used remotely from other workstations for reconstruction of image data.
The use of one computer is also problematic when the computer should likewise implement reconstructions of acquired images of a CT or PET system in real time, thus during the scanning of the images. It is important (in particular during the examination of a patient, thus during the scanning) that these images can be observed and analyzed immediately in order to be able to make corrections if necessary during the scan process or in order to be able to use first findings from the images just acquired for further implementation of the medical procedure.
If a reconstruction process for other images (for example remotely from another workstation) is already being processed on the computer in an imaging processing procedure or analysis procedure, this computer must first finish the already running reconstruction process before it can begin with the reconstruction process for the real time scan procedure.
Burdensome and time-wasting wait times therefore arise for the user, particularly for the medical professionals who conduct the examinations on patients. These wait times become longer as more reconstruction processes are present in the wait list (queue) or wait loop of the computer and that are executed before the scan reconstruction process is begun.